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Facing global economic uncertainty, volatile energy prices and crushing traffic jams, more and more residents of Jakarta are trading in their larger cars for compact hatchbacks, pushing sales of the two market-leading models to record highs in recent months.

Both Toyota and Honda will take crumbs of comfort — amid their international problems over massive recalls of a number of models — from booming compact sales for the last quarter of 2009.

Toyota said it posted back-to-back record sales for its compact Yaris in November and December, while Honda said it enjoyed record sales of its Jazz model in two of the last three months of 2009.

Toyota said it sold 8,576 Yaris units last year, including 1,180 units in November alone. The Yaris was Toyota’s fourth-most popular model in Indonesia. Honda said it sold 15,713 units of the Jazz last year, including 1,888 units in October, making it its best seller in Indonesia.

“With the economy getting better as the year drew to a close, people’s purchasing power improved and those who live in cities like Jakarta will have their eyes on smaller, more compact cars,” said Bambang Trisulo, chairman of the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo).

Gaikindo says the Yaris and Jazz are the two most popular vehicles among 1.5-liter hatchbacks, with more than 50 percent of the local market between them.

Consumers cited gas mileage and the convenience of driving a compact car in congested Jakarta as among reasons they were opting for smaller vehicles. “I recently traded my Nissan X-Trail sports-utility vehicle for the Toyota Yaris. I couldn’t stand having to pay for the gas the SUV consumes,” said Adit, a 28-year-old lawyer.

Atma Jaya University student Ari said he preferred the Yaris to other Toyota models for its size and fuel efficiency. “I think the Yaris is the most suitable automobile for the current conditions,” Ari said. “The bigger size of the Rush, Avanza and Innova adds to the difficulties of driving in crowded traffic.”

The international images of both Japanese carmakers have suffered due to recent recalls. Toyota is reeling from a global recall of more than 8 million of its vehicles, spanning eight models, though not the Yaris.

Honda has recalled 646,000 Fit and Jazz models built in China and Japan between 2002 and 2008 due to a faulty window component, and announced last week that it would recall more than 3,000 City models sold in Indonesia in 2007 and 2008. The Jazz is not under any recall in Indonesia.

Representatives of the Indonesian subsidiaries of Toyota and Honda last week expressed confidence that domestic sales would continue to grow. “For 2010, we at Honda have set a total sales target of 47,000 units, and I expect the Jazz to continue to be the best-selling product,” said Jonfis Fandy, director of marketing and after-sales service at PT Honda Prospect Motor.

Dimas Aska, a marketing and public relations executive at PT Toyota Astra Motor said: “Toyota is the number one automotive brand in terms of sales total in Indonesia, so our goal for this year is, of course, to maintain that.”

The Yaris sells from Rp 185 million ($19,600) to Rp 220 million, while the Jazz ranges from Rp 195 million to Rp 225 million.